Before the thug could even answer, Kairo already knew the truth, he'd seen it in his mind.
Without a word, he turned toward the three others still hesitating in fear—and in the blink of an eye, dropped them all.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Blood sprayed like a fan across the last man's face, and his knees buckled. His expression froze in raw terror.
"P-please! Don't kill me! Don't kill me!" he cried out, collapsing into a series of desperate kowtows.
Kairo stepped closer, his voice cold but steady. "Then get up. Take me to your boss's house."
"Y-yes, yes, right away!"
The man sucked in a shaky breath. As long as he was useful, he realized—he might still live. He scrambled to his feet, trembling, and led the way.
They moved quickly through the night, past empty alleys and shuttered shops, until they reached the Wild Wolf Gang's main hideout, Boss's home.
Kairo didn't bother sneaking around. He walked straight in, head held high.
"You—!" one of the gangsters started to speak, but his comrade stopped him, nodding urgently toward the bloodied survivor trailing behind Kairo.
The man followed their gaze and immediately shut up. That blood wasn't from a fight, it was a message. One that said their boss was likely dead.
Kairo glanced around the gaudy interior and stopped in front of a heavy safe set into the back wall.
"This is it?" he asked, coolly.
"Y-yeah! That's the one," the thug stammered.
"Where's the key?"
"N-no idea! Only Boss had it."
Kairo frowned and stepped forward, running his fingers over the surface of the safe.
"Get someone to cut it open," he said, not looking back.
The survivor stiffened at first, but then nodded quickly. "Right away!"
Kairo turned to him again, eyes narrowed. "What's your name?"
"Ivan! Ivan, boss!"
"You want to live? Serve me. Take over the Wild Wolf Gang and run it for me. Make everything here work in my favor. Can you do that?"
The trembling was gone now—replaced by sudden purpose.
"I won't let you down, Boss. I'll make sure every person here follows you. Everything the gang has is yours."
"Good," Kairo nodded. "Handle it. Report back when you're done."
Ivan bowed deeply and rushed off.
Kairo sank into the plush leather sofa, exhaustion catching up to him all at once. His muscles ached. His mind felt like it had been lit on fire since the attack.
Without even realizing it, he drifted off to sleep.
The next morning.
Kairo slowly opened his eyes to the unfamiliar scent of clean linen and the soft sound of footsteps.
Several young women in clean maid uniforms stood waiting with warm towels and toiletries. They bowed wordlessly and prepared everything he needed.
When they left, Kairo leaned back with a sigh.
"Man… luxury like this will soften you up."
The couch was too comfortable. The service was too smooth. This wasn't the life of a warrior.
He stood up suddenly, clenching his fist.
"No," he muttered. "Comfort makes you weak. I'm not here to relax. I'm here to get stronger."
He stepped outside into the yard.
A dozen men in black suits were already lined up, standing straight and silent.
"Good morning, Boss!" they all said in unison, bowing at a sharp sixty-degree angle.
Kairo raised his hand casually. "Let's get to work."
He didn't care about the gang at all. Letting Ivan manage the Wild Wolf Gang was never about power, it was about convenience. Kairo just wanted a quiet place to train and live comfortably.
When he turned seventeen or eighteen, he'd set out to sea. Whether he'd become a pirate or join the navy… that was a decision for later.
For now, it was all about sharpening himself. Physically. Mentally. Ruthlessly.
"Boss! Everyone from the Wild Wolf Gang has submitted. They're yours," Ivan reported, approaching respectfully.
"Good. They're under your command now. I'll come to you if I need something," Kairo replied without looking up.
"Yes, Boss!" Ivan said eagerly.
Kairo wasn't worried about betrayal. Power crushes treachery. If Ivan ever got clever, a single punch would be all it took to settle things.
Besides, Kairo had something even more terrifying now—Conqueror's Haki.
He'd awakened it just the day before. The sudden eruption of overwhelming pressure had startled even him.
But that wasn't all.
His Observation Haki had mutated into something far beyond what he'd seen in stories or heard in rumors. It didn't just sense danger. It saw it. Moments before they happened like snapshots of the future.
And when he touched people?
He could hear them. Not their voices, but their thoughts.
It was mind reading.
A freakish combination of future-sight and telepathy. His Observation Haki was a weapon far sharper than steel.
Maybe this was because his soul had fused with another. Maybe it was because of the brutal year in the mountains. Whatever the reason, the result was clear:
He was becoming something more than human.
"This body... it's not ordinary," Kairo muttered.
Back then, no matter how badly he was injured, a full meal and a nap were all he needed to bounce back like nothing happened. That wasn't normal. That was inhuman.
"I can't waste this gift."
So he began training again.
Since his custom equipment wasn't finished yet, he focused on the basics.
Days passed in a blur.
Kairo left the town again and returned to the mountain.
There, the savage routine resumed.
Ivan would manage the gang. Kairo would focus on becoming unstoppable.
He didn't start with swordsmanship. Instead, he began by tearing down his body and rebuilding it stronger.
Weighted training every single day. Starting with one ton… then more. No breaks. No rest.
He sprinted through the forests, up cliffs, across rivers—carrying absurd weights.
He jumped with them. Swung massive boulders as if they were dumbbells.
He trained everything: legs, arms, lungs, back, heart.
People who glimpsed him out there were stunned.
They saw a teenager carrying a rock ten times his size like it weighed nothing.
Rumors spread like wildfire.
"Did you hear? That kid Kairo is the reincarnation of Hercules! My cousin saw him running with a boulder that looked like a damn house!"
"What? No, that's not true, he was jumping with a stone twenty times his size!"
"You're both wrong. Kairo's not human. He's a demigod born of a mortal and a god!"
As stories morphed into legend, even merchants passing through the town began trading the tales like campfire myths.
Kairo had no idea how far his name had traveled… or that people were now whispering it like a bedtime story.
"Phew!"
"Food! Now!"
Kairo's shout echoed through the manor.
Servants scrambled, rushing forward with steaming platters.
He sat down like a warlord after battle and devoured everything in front of him. He didn't bother with table manners. Meat, bones—he ate it all.
Even the bones of roasted beasts cracked and vanished into his mouth.
The plates were soon left as empty as the mountains he trained on.